


All the Magic I Have Known

by sunrow



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Ambiguous Steve, Fluff, Is he big or small? You decide, M/M, Mermaids, Mutual Pining, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 03:27:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13227138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunrow/pseuds/sunrow
Summary: All mermaids have the ability to swap their tail for a pair of legs and live life as a human, should they want to. But the decision is a permanent one. No changing their minds or leaving any room for regret.Because of that, most mermaids never even consider the change. The thought doesn’t even cross their minds.Steve is not like most mermaids.





	All the Magic I Have Known

**Author's Note:**

  * For [layersofsilence](https://archiveofourown.org/users/layersofsilence/gifts).



> For [layersofsilence](https://layersofsilences.tumblr.com/) :D I hope you had an awesome Christmas, and that you have a happy 2018!
> 
> Not beta'd, so all mistakes are my own. Enjoy!

 

 

When his mother died, Steve knew there was nothing left for him underwater. His father died decades ago, not long after he’d been born, and his mother had been sick for years before she finally passed. It was a bittersweet event. He was heartbroken, of course, but also grateful that her pain was finally gone. She’d put on a brave face for him, acting like it didn’t bother her, but he knew it did.

Now, Sarah was at peace and he had to move on, just like she’d requested of him.

Steve knew his life as a mermaid was coming to an end. He’d been captivated by humans his entire life, studying them from afar, listening to the ancient grandmothers tell their stories about human men they’d met, and wishing he would be able to meet some himself. When his mother fell sick, Steve knew then that he had a choice to make: when his mother died, did he stay living as a mermaid in a world he never felt like he belonged in, or did he give his tail up for some legs and join the human world?

For the entirety of his mother’s illness, he weighed the pros and cons of each choice, but the moment she died, he instantly knew.

He wanted to be with the humans.

 

* * *

 

It had taken years, but Steve had finally found home in New York City. It was vibrant, bustling, and filled with the best and the worst of humanity. He adored it.

Once Steve decided to settle there, he made himself a routine, and part of that routine involved visiting a new coffee shop every morning. Some were good, some were bad, and he admittedly liked Starbucks, mostly because of how it was branded with the image of a strange mermaid that had two tails.

The image reminded him on his own transition into a human - of his tail splitting into two pieces and forming human legs. Had the creator of the coffee chain once been a mermaid like himself, enchanted by the promise of an exciting human life? If so, they had certainly done well for themself.

No Starbucks for him that morning, though, and instead a little hole in the wall type place called The Red Room. Once Steve stepped through the dark wooden door, he found himself in what was, indeed, a red room. The walls were painted scarlet, and the wooden chairs at the wooden tables were upholstered in a matching red brocade material. He headed to the counter, where a woman with curly red hair and vibrant green eyes was waiting. Her name tag read Natalia.

“Hey handsome, what can I get you?” Natalia greeted, not bothering to hide the smirk that formed when Steve blushed at her words.

For a moment, words failed him, but Steve collected himself and managed to get out, “Just a cappuccino, thank you.”

He quickly paid and hurried away to find himself a seat, and chose a secluded corner where he had a full view of the little cafe. While waiting for his coffee, Steve pulled a small notebook out from his coat pocket and looked around for something to sketch. It had turned out he was a naturally gifted artist, something he hadn’t known while he was a mermaid.

There were so many small details in the decor of the cafe that caught Steve’s eye, but he finally settled on the pretty chandelier that emitted a soft light into the room. He’d just sketched the basic shape of it first when Natalia came over with his coffee. She set it down on the table and took a peek at his drawing. He let her see it, even though it was just a rough sketch so far.

“That’s the chandelier, right?” She asked, glancing between the object in question and the sketch. “Looks good so far. Will you show me when you’re done?”

“Oh, uh, sure.” Steve smiled, trying to hold back his shyness. He’d made a couple of friends, like Sam, the man with wings he had to hide from humans, and Maria, the kick-ass brunette who taught Krav Maga classes for women, but he still found himself awkward around even the friendliest of strangers.

Natalia went back to serve the next customer, and Steve went back to his drawing, sipping his coffee periodically. He liked to spend as much time as possible in each cafe he visited, really soaking up the experience and immersing himself in the atmosphere. He already knew that The Red Room would join the short list of places that he would have to revisit one day.

Or maybe every day, because in just walked the most beautiful man Steve had ever laid eyes on. He was tall, brunette, and carried himself with an air of confidence. Natalia seemed to recognise the man, and the two started easy conversation.

After ordering, the man chose to sit at a table facing Steve, for which he was thankful, because his chandelier drawing was abandoned in favour of sketching the man’s gorgeous face. He tried not to make it obvious, sneaking glances at him between long looks at the chandelier. Doing so made it hard to get all the details down. The shape of his nose, the curve of his lips, the dimple in his chin… It was all there, and yet none of it was right.

Feeling unsatisfied, Steve gave up and went back to his chandelier picture. He needed something to show Natalia, afterall. He half-heartedly sketched away at it, trying to make it nice but not feeling as focused as before. It was a good drawing, that was evident, but he found it lacking anyway.

When he got up, Natalia was by his side within seconds.

“Did you finish it?” She asked, a happy sparkle in her eyes.

“Take a look.” Steve showed her the sketch, not feeling as enthusiastic as he should’ve. He made a living off commissions, having learned early on that he could charge an exorbitant amount and people wouldn’t bat an eyelash, but people usually wanted him to draw or paint something he had no interest in. He’d _had_ an interest in this drawing, but his struggle to perfectly capture that man’s likeness had taken it all away. “It’s not the best, I’m sorry.”

Natalia side-eyed him. “Yeah, sure, I’ll take your word for it.”

“I’ll draw something better next time, promise.”

“Oh, you’ll be back?” Natalia seemed pleased at his.

Steve nodded. “Yeah, your coffee was great.” It _was_ great, but if there was any chance he could see the beautiful brunette man again, he would take it.

 

* * *

 

Breaking his routine, Steve went back to The Red Room the next day. And the day after that. And then the week after that. The brunette was there almost every time, and from overhearing snippets of conversation, soon learned that his name was Bucky.

Bucky was impossible to draw. He sat in the same seat every time, as did Steve, and yet no matter how much he tried to subtly study Bucky’s face, he just couldn’t get it down on paper properly. It frustrated him almost as much as his fastly growing crush on Bucky.

Steve had found himself incredibly attracted to Bucky right from the get-go, yes, but he’d been attracted to others before and not felt so infatuated. Usually he’d be too awkward to initiate anything, and then he’d never see them again and it’d be fine. But even the thought of never seeing Bucky again was unnerving. Worse, he increasingly felt like he wasn’t seeing him _enough_.

Eventually, Steve stopped wanting to draw Bucky and simply started wanting to talk to him. He had formed a sort of camaraderie with Natalia, who had gotten into the habit of making his cappuccino the second she saw him walk through the door, but somehow he couldn’t work up the nerve to start a conversation with Bucky.

How would he go about it? Just sit himself down at Bucky’s table, invading his space, and force a conversation upon him? Steve shuddered to even think about it. He wanted everything to happen naturally, though even he himself had no idea what that would entail.

Natalia, it turned out, wasn’t going to wait any longer.

With some cake and coffee, she plopped herself down opposite Steve and let out a long sigh. “I am so tired of watching you two pine away at each other and do nothing about it. It’s sickening.”

“Uh, what?” Steve was suddenly hit by the realisation that maybe he wasn’t as subtle as he’d thought, because Natalia seemed well aware of his crush.

“Don’t play coy with me, Steve.” Natalia stabbed her little dessert fork into the cake and shoved the piece in her mouth. “Bucky doesn’t know you’ve been drawing him every damn day and he still fell for you anyway. But no matter how much I try to convince him that you like him as well, he just won’t talk to you. The fact that you won’t talk to him doesn’t help.”

Steve was shocked into momentary silence. Bucky had a crush on him as well? For how long? How did Steve not know? He shot a glance over Natalia’s shoulder and saw Bucky watching them with something akin to fear in his eyes, before he quickly averted his gaze.

“I always thought Bucky seemed so confident…” Steve muttered, sharing his thoughts out loud.

“Oh, he is.” Natalia confirmed, rolling her eyes over the rim of her mug. “Usually. But you’ve turned him into a bumbling mess and I don’t like it. You need to fix things.”

Steve frowned. “Fix things how?” How was _he_ supposed to make Bucky confident again?

Natalia groaned. “By talking to him, obviously. When I finish my break, you’re going to go over there and actually introduce yourself. Sound good?”

“Not really.” Steve grimaced, already feeling way out of his comfort zone. “Definitely sounds easier said than done.”

“No, it doesn’t. It really is that easy, you just have to make yourself believe it.”

Steve tried to take that advice and not even think about approaching Bucky at all, so that when Natalia finished her break, he could just head on over without overthinking it… Which is not what happened. The second he stood up, Steve was overcome by nerves and wanted to back out. Making the permanent decision to give up his tail for legs had been easier than this.

Bucky watched Steve approach with eyes wide, but he smiled shyly when Steve sat across from him.

“Hi,” Steve greeted, simply enough, and suddenly he felt a weight lift off his shoulders. In an instant, he felt as if that was exactly where he was supposed to be.

Bucky’s smile grew. “Hi.”

“I’m Steve.” He held out his hand.

“I know.” Bucky shook Steve’s hand, but didn’t let go straight away, instead preferring to linger with his touch. “I’m Bucky.”

Steve grinned. “I know.”

They sat there in comfortable silence for a few moments, simply soaking up each other’s presence. Steve was glad he didn’t need to fill the silence with unnecessary chatter, though he was looking forward to getting to know Bucky more. It was just as that thought occurred to him that Bucky glanced down at Steve’s neck and froze.

Steve was dumbfounded, as he knew exactly what Bucky was seeing. When Steve became human, it wasn’t just his legs that changed. The gills on his neck had also closed up, leaving a few barely perceptible lines on either side. The thing was, the lines were so thin and faint that only a being with advanced eyesight, like a mermaid, would be able to spot them.

“You’re like me,” Bucky stated softly, absentmindedly reaching up to touch his neck.

What did he mean? Steve looked closer and oh, of course, there they were. Delicate little lines just like Steve’s own. He looked up and stared into Bucky’s eyes, feeling excitement bubble up inside of him.

What are the odds? Mermaids almost _never_ gave up their tail, so it couldn’t be a coincidence that he and Bucky and not only found home in the same city, but also got coffee at the same place and the same time that one day, prompting Steve to keep coming back.

“It’s fate.”

Instantly Steve felt a little foolish for blurting that out, a blush colouring his cheeks, but Bucky just smiled wider and nodded along. “The universe wanted us to find each other, how else could this be explained?”

“I don’t think there’s any other way.” He barely knew Bucky, but Steve already felt like only now was his life truly starting, and that Bucky would be part of it forevermore. But, really, he knew he was getting ahead of himself. “Can I take you out sometime? I don’t go out much, but I’m sure there’s somewhere nice we could go.”

“How about we stay here, and you just buy my next coffee?” Bucky suggested, leaning forward into Steve’s space. God, Steve wanted to draw him so bad. To really capture the details of his beauty.

“It’s a date.”


End file.
